Explainable Autonomous Robots: A Survey and Perspective

Abstract

Advanced communication protocols are critical to enable the coexistence of autonomous robots with humans. Thus, the development of explanatory capabilities is an urgent first step toward autonomous robots. This survey provides an overview of the various types of "explainability" discussed in machine learning research. Then, we discuss the definition of "explainability" in the context of autonomous robots (i.e., explainable autonomous robots) by exploring the question "what is an explanation?" We further conduct a research survey based on this definition and present some relevant topics for future research.